Chris' Recipes

Perfect Porterhouse Steak

Written By: Chris
-
Apr•
14•15

I was craving a good bone-in steak recently! We usually reach for the fillet, but spotted a beautiful Porterhouse steak at the grocery store. T-Bone steaks and Porterhouse steaks are the same. The Porterhouse is just a larger version of the T-Bone because it is carved from the larger portion of the tenderloin. Because the Porterhouse is much larger than a T Bone, it is usually enough for two! The USDA specifications require the filet portion must be at least 1.25″ thick at its widest point to qualify labeling as a Porterhouse Steak. A T-Bone Steak must be at least 0.25″ thick and any smaller would be called a Club Steak. The next time you try to decide between a T-Bone or Porterhouse, remember that size is the only difference in addition to the fillet section being larger on the Porterhouse. Look for Certified USDA Prime for the best quality. I’ve watched two of my favorite chef’s cook their version of the Porterhouse; Bobby Flay and Michael Symon; and I lean towards Bobby’s method and basically follow his instructions. The finished image below is from his method in Bon Appetit.

Both the T Bone and the Porterhouse are steaks cut from the short loin area of the beef. A center “T-Shaped Bone” divides two sides of the steak. On one side is a tenderloin filet and the other is a top loin which is better known as the New York Strip Steak. When the bone is removed, the result is two distinctly different steaks. A Filet and a New York Strip. When the bone is left on either side, it becomes either a “Bone-in Filet” or a “Bone-in New York Strip”. I like to cut it as they do in fine steak houses. This way, each of us get pieces of the meat from either side of the “T”. Bill likes to chew on the cooked bone before I hand it off to our dog Simba!

Let the steak sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes before cooking, which will help it cook quickly and more evenly. Once your steak is room temperature, salt it aggressively on both sides. A lot of salt is necessary with a steak this thick.

Preheat your broiler. Next, heat a large cast iron skillet until it is really hot over medium-high heat. Add a dash of a neutral oil until it is smoking.

Place steak in pan and don’t touch it. After about four minutes, flip it once it has a beautiful brown crust and remove it from the pan without cooking the second side!

Move the steak, crust side up to a cutting board and then cut the steak off the bone in two pieces—the strip on one side, the filet on the other by cutting straight down into thick slices perpendicular to the bone.

Then, place the bone back in the hot pan, and reassemble the sliced meat alongside it, crust side up. Top the steak with a few fat pats of butter and then place the pan including the cut steak underneath the broiler and broil until sizzling. A perfect medium-rare should only take four to six more minutes. (Since the steak is already sliced, you can look to check doneness.)

Bobby also recommends serving the porter-house directly from the pan. He suggests that you spoon the buttery pan sauces over each portion!

We enjoyed ours with a baked potato and roasted onions; some zucchini bites, a beautiful 2012 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon! So great!